Posts Tagged ‘righttowork’

All employers have a responsibility to prevent illegal working and must therefore carry out ‘right to work checks.’ Businesses can be fined up £20,000 if they are found to have employed an illegal worker and hadn’t followed the checking procedure. Knowingly employing someone without right to work can result in a jail term and unlimited fine.

From 28th January 2019 employers will be able to use the Home Office’s online checking system to determine a prospective employee’s right to work in the UK without the need to receive documents from the individual. This applies to non-EEA nationals who hold a biometric residence permit/card or EEA nationals who have been granted immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme. EEA nationals without settled status will still need to provide appropriate documentation.

Immigration minister Caroline Nokes called it “another step we are taking to simplify and modernise the immigration system,” and said it would make it easier than ever for migrants to view and prove their right to work in the UK.

When using the online system the employer is required to:

Check each applicant and only recruit, or continue to employ, if the online check confirms their right to work

Carry out a visual identification using the photo supplied with the online check

Retain the result of the check during the individual’s employment and for two years following

If an online check cannot be carried out, the Home Office Employer Checking Service should be contacted and applicants will need to supply the required documents.

Changes will also be made to the checking of UK Nationals in order to accommodate those who do not hold a passport. List A documents allow UK individuals to provide full or short-form certificates alongside an official document containing their National Insurance number.

From the 3rd September 2018 the documentation accepted for DBS checks for non-EEA nationals will be changing. This is to better align the system with Right to Work checks. The current guidelines will continue to run until 3rd December 2018 to allow employers a transition period to adjust their internal procedures.

The changes will apply to all levels of DBS check.

It will no longer be necessary to supply a Passport as an additional item to the following 3 documents:

A current Residence Card (including an Accession Residence Card or a Derivative Residence Card) issued by the Home Office to a non-European Economic Area national who is a family member of a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland or who has a derivative right of residence.

A current Immigration Status Document containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with a valid endorsement indicating that the named person may stay in the UK, and is allowed to do the type of work in question, together with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.

A current Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the named person is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK or has no time limit on their stay in the UK, together with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.

The following documents have been added to list of items that can be used as the Primary Document for non-EEA nationals seeking paid employment:

A Permanent Residence Card issued by the Home Office to the family member of a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland – added to documents available for Non EE applicants.

A Positive Verification Notice issued by the Home Office Employer Checking Service to the employer or prospective employer, which indicates that the named person may stay in the UK and is permitted to do the work in question – added to documents available for Non EE applicants.

The document below has been added to the Group 2b document options for all applicant types (UK, EEA and non-EEA nationals):

Employment Matters… Rob Bryan has been providing business advice and human resources consultancy services since 2000. Rob and his team all formerly worked for Professional Personnel Consultants who were acquired by Croner CCH. Our Head Office is in Bedfordshire but we work with companies all over England. Employers today face ... Continue reading →